faith

faith, joy, trust, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Sweetness: Tasting His Presence Through the Process

Devotionals, Stay SaneOctober 15, 2018January 13, 2019

Sometimes faith is a process, or promises take a while to come true. In the place of waiting, the sweetness of the Presence of the Lord sustains us.

One of my favorite things about fall is all the delicious smells and tastes in the air. I love a mouthwatering apple cobbler; a buttery crust, topped with warm gooey cinnamon coated apples. Or what about the rich, cool pumpkin pie. All the flavors culminate into a swirl of delight for your taste buds, like a circus in your mouth. I also love sipping on fresh, warm, apple cider. So sweet. And satisfying.

Think about your favorite dessert right now. You can stop and close your eyes to really experience the sweetness in your mind. Let the warm chocolate spill over your tongue. Let the rich, cool cream melt in your mouth, or the juicy berries explode with flavor into your cheeks. Do you have your special dessert in mind? Meditate on the sweetness for a moment. Let it permeate your senses.

The Sweetness of His Presence

What is better than even the richest dessert, is the full, rich, beautiful presence of Jesus. In His presence is the fullness of joy! It is sweet and satisfying. There is nothing like it in Heaven or on Earth.

The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning.

Psalm 25:14, AMPC

But, what about when you don’t feel the sweetness? What about when trusting in God, drawing near to Him is painful, difficult, uncomfortable?

There are days when I feel too raw or too ashamed to come close to Jesus. There are times when I don’t understand my own heart, so I don’t want to share it with the God, who sees all. Sometimes I would rather just binge watch TV and let my brain and my heart rest.

Yet, when I choose to risk time with Him, I am never disappointed. Because Jesus isn’t waiting to catch me in a trap. He is my refuge.

O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8, AMPC

There are days we feel too raw or too ashamed to come close to Jesus. But, when we choose to risk time with Him, we will never be disappointed. Jesus isn't waiting to catch us in a trap. He is our refuge. Click To Tweet

Faith is a Process

I was struck the other day while reading the book of Exodus, by the process of faith. God appears to Moses in a burning bush (the bush is on fire, but not burning up). He tells Moses how He plans to rescue the Israelite people from slavery and that Moses will lead this rescue. God gives Moses the step by step plan for all the He is going to do, and all that Moses is responsible for (Exodus 3-4).

Then, Moses begins to question God. “But I’m not…enough.” “I can’t…succeed.” God provides answers and assurance. Moses continues to make excuses to the point that the Bible says “the anger of the Lord blazed against Moses (Exodus 4:14).” Yet, God still chose Moses to carry out His plan.

And later, in the book of Hebrews, God honors Moses for his faith in rescuing the people of Israel (Hebrews 11:27-29).

How often am I like Moses, asking God the “what about?” questions?

God is extremely gracious, patient and forgiving. He sees the full picture. He loves us through our trials, and questions, and brings us to His place of faith for us. Faith is not something man invented, it is God created.

looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2, ASV (emphasis added)

The Process and The Sweetness

Jesus is not offended by our process. He welcomes our hearts into His throne room, whatever they look like. I am thankful for my hard times with God, and in life. I am thankful for my raw questions, and even my lack of faith at times. These things keep me coming to Jesus. The more I seek Jesus in my struggling, the more I get to taste the sweetness of His presence.

His grace never dies. His love is always enough. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and I can trust that He’s got this. That He’s got me. In the process of bringing my whole self to Him, He grows my faith.

But even more satisfying than seeing my own faith grow, is that I get the privilege of sitting at His feet. The glory of His Presence is not just for Kings and Queens, but for the broken, the ashamed, the lost and the hungry.

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11, ESV

Dear Friend,

I invite you to come, just as you are, sit at the feet of Jesus, and taste the sweetness of His presence.

belief, faith, lies, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Distractions: Completely Opening Ourselves to God’s Existence

Devotionals, Stay SaneOctober 1, 2018January 13, 2019

This world offers a multitude of distractions. It’s easy to miss God’s obvious glory. We even question His existence. “Where are you, God? Make yourself known, be apparent, show up!”

I’ve demanded these things from God way more than I would care to admit. My questions usually happen when I’ve reached the limit of my own power. I have hit my wits’ end. It’s here I find myself questioning God, and how “real” He is. God’s nature is not to be annoyed with us, but I often times picture Him rolling His eyes at me. “I WAS there, Katie. I AM here! LOOK!”

Intimacy

I wish I could experience, just for a moment, the intimacy Adam and Eve had with God. To walk with Him, talk with Him, see His majesty. But, we all know, this isn’t possible until we reach Heaven. Oh, that stinkin’ sin! Just like that, the whole of humanity was separated from God.

But God was ahead of this sin. He knew it would come and prepared our temporary home for it. He poured His glory into every bit of this Earth. His fingerprint is in everything. Everything! He knew our human limits needed the obvious.

For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts. Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power.

Romans 1:19-20, TLB (emphasis added)

But Satan likes to make us believe we are alone, that God has abandoned us; He’s not real. That’s so easy to believe because we can’t “see” God in the flesh. We can’t see Satan in the flesh either, so what’s the hangup?

God knew our human limits needed the obvious. He poured His glory into every bit of this Earth. His fingerprint is in everything. Everything! Click To Tweet

Satan’s Distractions

It takes no energy at all to allow our minds to be negative (at least for me). Human nature is prone to negativity, so we believe the lie that we are abandoned.

We either believe God sits high above, allowing us to suffer here on Earth, or that He’s simply not real. It can be easy to believe when we see stories and images that the world is burning. Full of evil. Darkness is our future. But, that’s where those stories stop.

The truth is, our stories don’t stop here on Earth. This is not our end. It’s not our home. What the news fails to remind us is the good God produces through awful circumstances. His good isn’t always apparent, but I promise if we search for it, we will find it. If we search for God we will find Him…

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

Proverbs 8:17, NIV (emphasis added)

Satan is also practical in his distractions…

“You deserve to sleep in. God would want you to have the extra rest.”

“You don’t need your silent time today. It would be better to catch up on some shows.”

“Are you really going to go for a walk in this heat?”

See how sneaky he is? All of these instances distract us from finding God. Distract us from observing His glory and goodness. I know I allow these distractions on a regular basis. Dare I say, it’s daily?

Human Distractions

Just as our human minds are negative, they are also logical. They have to make sense of things. Often times we think we have to prove God. Whether that be to ourselves or someone else, we feel this strange need to affirm God’s existence. Our humanness is so stubborn and distracts from what God has already made clear…

Do you think you can explain the mystery of God? Do you think you can diagram God Almighty? God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend; Stretching farther than earth’s horizons, far wider than the endless ocean.

Job 11:7-8, MSG

God does not need us to prove Him. Human effort will always fail. God has already proved Himself to be real. The only way I, you, or anyone else will truly know His existence, is to open up…

Completely Open

Our eyes, our ears, our minds, our hearts…

When we witness nature, all our senses know God to be real. Interacting with others, we see God’s fingerprint. Reading His Words, the Bible, we comprehend His greatness. Finally, our hearts. When our hearts are open to God, we accept Him as the only truth. Jesus made this clear in one of the last prayers He prayed on Earth…

After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

John 17:1-5, NLT

When we do our very best to achieve communion like Adam and Eve, you cannot escape God. He smacks you right in the face everywhere you turn. When we completely open up to God’s unchanging, unfathomable, obvious glory, He is inescapable. All the distractions may not disappear, but we are able to combat and overcome when we accept God’s existence.

middle, fear, faith, Oh Lord Help Us, mentor, women, ministry

Middle: Trusting God’s Grace to Empower Us Daily

Devotionals, Stay SaneSeptember 26, 2018January 13, 2019

The grace of Jesus not only saves us for eternity but empowers us to live daily for Him. Let us not forget the power within us when we feel stuck in the middle.

Have you ever tried something really incredible? Something you didn’t think you could do, but you tried it anyway? Have you ever done something that no one else is doing, but it just feels right to you and makes you come alive?

When I was a teenager, I loved water-skiing. The way the wind and waves splashed in my face as I skidded across the top of the water made me feel on top of the world. I know many people like to water ski, but when I was fourteen, I didn’t know any other kids my age who were getting up at the crack of dawn during summer just to master the slalom (one ski).

Stepping Out

Sometimes today, I still have those slalom moments, where stepping into the incredible makes me ask myself, “Am I crazy?” I wonder if this is how Peter felt in Matthew 14 when he walked on the water with Jesus.

I love this story, not only because of the water, or that two people defied gravity and actually stood, walked on top of the waves, but because of the many ways we see God through this encounter.

If you aren’t familiar with the story, Jesus, after a full day of ministry, sends his disciples out onto a boat to cross the lake, so he can get some time alone to pray. He tells them he will join them later, but in the middle of the night, Jesus comes to them, walking on the water! The disciples are naturally terrified and imagine they have seen a ghost, but Peter shouts, “Lord, if it is really you, command me to come out on the water to you.” Jesus simply replies, “Come,” (Matthew 14:28-29).

Power for the Impossible

Peter, of course, gets out of the boat and begins walking on water toward Jesus. Walking on water! That’s amazing! No one on earth before or since has ever done anything like that. No tricks, no speedboats, no skis or ropes, just Peter and Jesus walking on the waves.

Peter inspires me in this encounter. I love his reasoning (Of course, if it’s really Jesus, he will empower me to walk to Him). I love his brazen request, and his boldness to step out of the boat! He may have spoken faster than he was thinking, but he didn’t go back on his word. Jesus said, “Come,” so he went.

Peter fully believed Jesus could make him do the impossible. And He did.

Do you believe God is the God of the impossible? That the same God who gave Peter the power to walk across the waves, can do the impossible for you?

Peter fully believed Jesus could make him do the impossible. Until…

In the Middle

Suddenly, Peter started looking around. He realized what he was doing was insane. He saw the waves lapping up against his feet, and with every splash, fear set in deeper and deeper until Peter started to sink.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

Matthew 14:30, ESV

“Lord save me.” So often in my own life, my high faith, believing in the impossible quickly becomes, “Lord save me.”

Do I forget who called me in the first place? Who is responsible for this incredible miracle? I do.

So often, just like Peter, when I am in the middle, I forget that I am with Jesus. I forget that He is the One who started this impossible task and that He is the One empowering me to move forward. I get scared and I cry out, “Lord save me!” when Jesus has invited me to walk on water with Him.

How often do we believe that Jesus will save us, but forget He also empowers us?

Peter walked on water with Jesus and then cried out for Jesus to save him when he started to fall.

Grace Sustains in the Middle

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV

After they got on the boat, Peter was rebuked for his lack of faith. Where did Peter lack faith? Did he lack faith that Jesus would rescue him? No, not for a second. He lacked faith in the process, the middle. He didn’t believe Jesus could empower him to keep going when things got hard.

The middle is a wonderful place to be because there is grace and power for you in the middle.

God’s grace didn’t stop at the cross. It is by grace that we are saved, yes, but it is also by grace that we continue on. Grace is more than just favor, or not getting what we deserve. Grace is power!

God's grace didn't stop at the cross. It is by grace that we are saved, yes, but it is also by grace that we continue on. Click To Tweet

Power Over Fear

I have a plaque hanging by my front door with the words “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.” Those words come from the song, Oceans, by Hillsong United, and they are the echo of my heart! I want to push past fear, the unknown, the uncomfortable and awkward to walk on the water with my King. He has given me everything I need. And I can trust Him.

Don’t let fear rob you of the joy of walking on the water with Jesus. If you cry out prematurely, our good God will save you, but you may miss something amazing.

Let the words from this song wash over your hearts today. This is my prayer for all of us. And if you are in the middle, you are in a great spot, because you are standing with The King!

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander. And my faith will be made stronger. In the presence of my Savior.

Oceans, Hillsong United

testimony, daily devotional, spiritual growth, Christian mentoring, Oh Lord Help Us

Testimony: Sharing The Good That God Has Done in Our Lives

Devotionals, Stay SaneAugust 13, 2018July 30, 2019

Sharing our testimony of the good that God has done in our lives strengthens our own faith and builds others’ faith as well.

A few days ago, I received one of the most incredible messages I’ve ever seen. It was a testimony from a young man I had prayed for back in the spring. It read: “Hey Mrs. Hope, my name is Jacob.* You may not remember me, but a few months ago you gave me a ride and money for gas. You gave me your card with your cell number on the back and I just stumbled across it tucked away in my wallet. At the time I was a heroin addict, the kind of person most people avoid like the plague. You were the complete opposite, and showed nothing but genuine care and kindness towards me. I have turned my life around completely and now have a close relationship with Jesus Christ. I don’t know if I thanked you that day, but I’d like to take the chance now to tell you how appreciative I was and still am. You are a powerful woman and I hope you are doing well because you absolutely deserve it. I hope you have a blessed day.”

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

Psalm 66:16

Can I just take a moment to say….

“Praise God! Hallelujah!! Thank You Jesus!!! What a mighty God we serve!” When I read this message, I was speechless. Overwhelmed by the grace and mercy of God, I was in tears. I felt so grateful that the Lord allowed me to be part of an intense change in this young man’s life. What a blessing to witness a glimpse of the mighty work He’s doing to change Jacob’s direction–from a crash course with death to a renewed sense of life to the full!

When I wrote about my encounter with Jacob in a previous piece, I had no idea whether I’d hear from Jacob again. When I gave him my card, I was simply offering for him to reach back out if he needed help, prayer, etc. I did not expect to receive a text two months later with a testimony of how he had overcome his heroin addiction and rededicated his life to Jesus! When I was praying for Jacob, I felt a strong release of power from the Holy Spirit. So, I believed something shifted for him spiritually. But when I left him, the only assurance I had that he would kick his addiction was my own faith that the Lord would do a work in his life.

Testimonies build our faith…

I’m so thankful Jacob shared his testimony with me because it confirmed what I’d been believing for him in faith. You see, the Lord has set this whole thing up so beautifully! He wants us to have faith in Him. To believe that He will carry through on the promises He has made for our lives. But He also knows, that to truly believe, we need to experience His goodness firsthand. For ourselves. And when He answers our specific prayers, He knows we’ll be so blown away by what He has done, that we will praise His name. That we’ll testify of His goodness to others.

This is what happened with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. When she encountered Jesus, He offered her living water. He told her he knew that she had had five husbands, but He did not judge her. Rather, He invited her to a new way, to a new life filled with His living water. The woman accepted Jesus’ offer, left her water pail, and ran back to Samaria. There, she told everyone who Jesus was and what He had done for her. The result:

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

John 4:39

Salvations and strengthened faith resulted from the Samaritan woman’s testimony. These are the kinds of things that can happen when we testify of God’s goodness and mercy in our lives.

When we share how He has set us free, we help build the faith of other captives who desperately need to know that true freedom is possible. Click To Tweet

Sharing my testimony…

When I was in my Jeep with Jacob, he was at the end of himself. Out of gas. Strung out on heroin. Out of hope. And I knew what that felt like. Before we pulled over to pray, I shared my testimony of what the Lord had done for me. I told Jacob how a number of years ago, I had been suicidal and was driving 90 mph down the interstate. I admitted that I’d been trying to figure out how to wreck my car in a way that didn’t hurt anyone else and looked like an accident. How I was crying out to the Lord and telling Him that I was done. That the depression was too much for me to take anymore. I was begging Him to show me what my purpose was, or it was all over!

And then I shared how that little beater car had the audacity to pull right in front of me going 60mph. How I had to slam on my brakes not to hit the car. Then, the license plate that read: “SongTree.” The word seemed odd to me, and I asked myself, ‘What the heck does that mean?’ And right then, the Holy Spirit asked me a question in my spirit, “What do a song and a tree need?” And I knew the answer. A songbird. I knew that He was confirming my purpose. To be His Songbird of Hope. To sing and write and praise Him all my days. Precisely when I needed a specific answer from the Lord, moreso than ever before in my life, He answered me. Me. His answer shocked me back to life, rang clear and true all the way through my spirit, and still reverberates as I write this.

A testimony of his own…

I knew that my testimony had struck a deep chord with Jacob because he began weeping as I was speaking. When I offered to pray with him, he was not even able to say yes, but he was nodding his head forward and back over and over again. And when we prayed, the God whose goodness I was testifying of, touched Jacob personally. And now Jacob has a powerful testimony of his own. The Lord has freed him of addiction to heroin–one of the most lethal drugs known to man!

Friends, there is power in sharing our full testimonies. And not just the pretty parts where it’s all wrapped up in a bow. Because there are ugly parts too. We need to be honest about the wrecks we were before the Lord saved us. We have to be willing to share the hard truth that we did not do everything perfectly. That our faith was barely the size of that proverbial mustard seed. That we were literally helpless and hopeless without the Lord. Beloved, we need to share the good, the bad, and the ugly because our honesty and vulnerability shows our need for a savior who truly saves us.

And our testimony is even greater when we acknowledge that what the Lord has done for us is not because we were the strongest, most faith-filled, perfect people to ever approach His throne. He answers our prayers and blesses us because He is a good God who loves and cares for us. And when we turn our lives over to His grace, He will move mightily on our behalf.

How we defeat the enemy…

Rest assured, when the Lord does a work in our lives, the devil is right there trying to sabotage the good that God is doing. But Jesus has provided His blood and the power of our testimony to ward off attacks from the enemy. So, let’s wield our shields and our weapons well and testify to the goodness of God in our lives.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Revelation 12:11

How has the Lord built your faith with a testimony? Have you shared it?

*name changed to protect privacy
**all scripture references from the King James Version of The Bible

Evan Kirby

faith, steps, stretching, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, ministry

Stretching: Walking by Faith Deepens Our Trust in The Lord

Devotionals, Stay SaneJune 12, 2018September 8, 2019

When the Lord is stretching our faith, we begin to more fully trust Him. Looking back, we can see how He has ordered our steps.

A few weeks ago, I found myself in a scene that could easily describe the beginning of a bad horror movie: It’s evening as an unassuming housewife drives along the highway to run a mundane errand. She sees a young man on the side of the road carrying a gas can. Feeling sorry for him, she pulls over to give him a ride. Disclaimer: I really dislike horror films and never actually watch them! But I’ve seen enough scary movies to know that this is the perfect setup for things to go really dark, really fast. But don’t worry, this plot takes a positive turn and ends on the bright side!

Stretching

Now, before your natural mind starts listing all the reasons why we should never pick up hitchhikers, please know that I share your concerns. I’m not trying to convince anyone to pick people up on the side of the road. But consider this: have you ever felt the Holy Spirit prompting you to do something that’s a little, or perhaps way, outside of your comfort zone? Do you believe the Lord calls us to do things that don’t seem to make sense in the natural but make complete sense in the spirit? I believe the Lord is always stretching my faith to deepen my trust in Him.

He might not stretch your faith in the exact same way that He did mine because the stretching looks different for each one of us. For some, it might be a nudge to simply smile and say hello to a stranger. For someone else, it might be to adopt a child from another country. And for another, to forgive someone who has hurt her. But I believe that the Lord is in the business of building our faith by stretching us beyond our own natural strength. And if we’ll trust Him, we’ll see that He is ordering our steps perfectly.

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Proverbs 16:9, KJV

I believe that the Lord is in the business of building our faith by stretching us beyond our own natural strength. Click To Tweet

A Testimony to Share…

So, as it happened, I picked up a hitchhiker and have a testimony to share. The young man looked to be in his early twenties. When he got in my vehicle, he thanked me and even said, “Wow, ma’am. I don’t know too many women who would pick up a guy on the side of the road. I really appreciate it.” To which I replied, “Well, I have the Holy Ghost, so to tell you the truth, I’m really not afraid of anyone!” He said that was good to hear because he was a believer too.

As we made our way to the gas station, his speech was coherent, but his eyes kept sort of rolling back in his head. When I asked him if he was feeling ok, he said he was really exhausted. He explained that he was working two jobs–one at night and another during the day–and that he had already put in 36 hours in the past three days.

Out of Gas in More Ways Than One…

When we got to the gas station, he started rummaging through a little bag he had with him and was getting upset. He said he had left his wallet in the console of his car and didn’t have his debit card. I said it was no problem and paid the few bucks it took to fill up his gas can. When we got back in the car, he continued to thank me and said, “You really have no idea how much this means to me.” I said I understood what it was like to be out of gas physically, emotionally, spiritually, and every which way, and that I was happy to be able to help. And that’s when the young man began to weep.

I tried to console him, reassuring him that we all need help now and then. Between sobs, he said he had really been struggling recently. His dad had been a preacher and left his mom for another woman. He had moved back in with his mom to help pick up the financial slack since his dad left, and he was also helping take care of his other siblings. As he was talking, his eyes kept doing the rolling motion I had noticed earlier. At the risk of being intrusive, I felt like I was supposed to ask about his eyes. I said I understood that he was tired, but was he really doing ok physically? At first he repeated that he was sleep deprived and exhausted from working outside in the heat all day. And he claimed that he was sober, but then he admitted that he had struggled with addiction.

The Lord Had Let Him Live…

As he shared, I learned that he had been addicted to heroin and had actually overdosed a number of times. He said he didn’t understand why, but for some reason, the Lord had let him live. No matter how many times he had given up on himself and gone back to drugs, he knew that God had never given up on him. I told him how the Lord had saved my life when I was on the brink of suicide. By this point, we were almost back to his car, but he was having trouble holding it all together. So, I asked him if I could pray for him, and he said yes. I pulled off the highway onto a side road and into a neighborhood. And that’s when the Holy Spirit began to move.

I’m not even sure what all I prayed as I laid my hands on that broken young man. The Holy Spirit took over my words, and I prayed in the power of the Holy Spirit for quite awhile. He was buckled over in his seat weeping, moaning, and crying out to God. He was repenting. Thanking the Lord for saving him. Praising Him for letting him live. When it was all said and done, I believe that he was delivered of a spirit of addiction, and I know that his faith was restored. As the prayer was winding down, he said, “I can’t deny that Jesus is real because things like this keep happening to me.”

Our Steps Are Ordered…

So often I go through my days wondering when the Lord will really use me. I have grandiose visions of what an impactful ministry might look like. And I feel discouraged when my daily life doesn’t seem to measure up to the image in my mind’s eye. I can worry whether I’m taking the right steps so that I’m in the right place at the right time to do what He’s calling me to do. But as He stretches my faith, I am learning to trust that He is leading and guiding me perfectly.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

Psalm 37:23, KJV

We mustn’t let ourselves get discouraged in this daily walk with Christ. The mundane things: loads of laundry, dirty dishes, unfinished to do lists…these are just part of life. They cannot separate us from the love of Christ or the plans that He has to prosper us. His idea of ministry does not always involve a pulpit, a stage, and an audience. He is showing me that the stage for His ministry is my everyday life. And each day is not just a warm up for the main event. It’s a daily stretching of my faith.

How has He stretched your faith? Can you look back and see how He has ordered your steps?

Andreas Selter

Almighty, big, Oh Lord Help Us, faith, blog, Christian, ministry

Big: Is God Human-Sized or Almighty?

Devotionals, Stay SaneJune 7, 2018June 27, 2019

When the God we serve is a small, human-sized god, it isn’t difficult to focus on our problems or on other people, but when He is big and mighty He is a fire in our bones.

I hadn’t planned on this being my next post; I’ve been studying another idea for a few weeks. But, we all know and history reveals that God is notorious for changing our well thought-out plans.

For decades I have been teaching, writing and preaching to others about the greatness of our God. In small group studies, in hospital rooms, in a cancer treatment center, in hospital chapels, in a master’s program of wanna-be theologians from different denominations, in counseling rooms where faith was small, in support groups, I have hailed the mighty, powerful nature of our gracious, forgiving Father.

At times, I have felt like a travel agent speaking of places I have never been.

Enormous

Not that I haven’t believed in the omnipotent, infinite God of creation – I did with all my heart…for them. The picture I held of God for the world was huge:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16, NKJV

That’s enormous, right? I believed. I believed throughout Kay Arthur studies and learning through Beth Moore studies; I even taught some of those Bible studies. I believed while listening to countless exegetical and topical sermons. I believed while singing on several praise teams and in worship services with hands raised in praise to a glorious Savior. Girlfriend, I did it all!

Not Just for the Big Stuff

But for me? Well, my God was only BIG for the big stuff, like the salvation of my children, the cancer of family members, the heartfelt prayer requests of friends, etc. It isn’t that I didn’t pray; it’s that I didn’t think He wanted to be bothered with the small things of my life…and SURELY not my chronic failures like depression and anger…and suicidal thoughts.

You see, growing up in a home where addiction was lord, I learned at a young age that hopes and dreams were squashed. They weren’t to be trusted because disappointment was sure to follow. Better not to hope or dream…Lo and behold, in my first leg of graduate school for a counseling degree, I learned that this behavior/belief is normal for adult children of addiction. Who knew?

However, somehow it carried over to my picture of God, the Father Who has set me free from so much bondage to falsehoods. Even now, after much healing, my ‘small God’ mentality seeps back in when I am not on my guard against the enemy. Sometimes, when I feel alone or the battle is raging around me, I want to cry out with Jeremiah, “Enough already!”

‘Leave me alone in my melancholy.’ The Shepherd replies, ‘I will not leave you alone. You are mine. I know each of my sheep by name. You belong to me. If you think I am finished with you, if you think I am a small god that you can keep at a safe distance, I will pounce on you like a roaring lion…then I will mend you, cradle you in my arms, and kiss you tenderly…’

Brennan Manning, Reflections for Ragamuffins

Fire in Our Bones

In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, there are definitely seasons where it appears he has a tug of war with the Lord. In chapter 20, Jeremiah tells God that he is weary of the constant derision he receives daily, (Jer. 20:8). He actually accuses the righteous Lord of deceiving him in verse 7! Therefore, the silly, little prophet – like us, thought he could decide not to talk about the Lord anymore, just close his mouth due to derision and persecution. He believed he had a level of control on this ‘small god’ whom he served.

But if I say, “I will not mention His name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”

Jeremiah 20:9, NIV (emphasis added)

The NKJV puts it this way:

But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not. (emphasis added)

I know it isn’t much different, but I love the word picture Jeremiah gives us of a burning fire in his bones! He desperately attempted to hold back, to stop speaking the prophecies which God had given him to speak, but the power of God so overwhelmed him that he experienced physical symptoms of fire in his bones and weariness in his body.

Change of Heart

Look what Jeremiah once again comes to realize by verses 11-12:

But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.

Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause.

Jeremiah 20:11-12, NIV

Our Mighty God

Oh, dear sister! Why does our God seem small, even impotent sometimes? Isn’t it because our ears are open to our enemies’ derision and lies rather than our Father’s words of truth and encouragement? Could it be because our eyes rest upon our failures, present circumstances, or the lives of others instead of our righteous, mighty Warrior who longs to deliver us?

I know that is true of me. Too often I bring the Awesome God of creation down to a human level and expect puny human things from Him when He is offering me the power and might of a resurrected life. God, forgive me.

May we be as Jeremiah was and be unable to keep the prompting of our Lord within us. May we answer His call and see His mighty works, whatever they may be for each of us.

Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3, NKJV

Too often I bring the Awesome God of creation down to a human level and expect puny human things from Him when He is offering me the power and might of a resurrected life. Click To Tweet

guille pozzi

dance, worship, faith, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, ministry

Dance: An Invitation to Experience the Joy of Worship in Faith

Devotionals, Stay SaneMay 30, 2018July 30, 2019

In this dance of faith, we don’t have to have all the right moves; if we simply follow the Lord’s lead, we’ll experience the joy of worship.

One of my earliest memories is of sitting in a neighbor’s living room and watching Shirley Temple tap and twirl across the television screen. I was mesmerized. I had never seen anyone dance like that, let alone a little girl who looked my age. She moved so gracefully and with such joy! The vision of that tiny dancer struck a chord somewhere deep down inside of me.

Musical Roots…

My family lived off the grid before the term “off the grid” really existed. Even though we didn’t have electricity, running water, or modern conveniences, we were rich in music and dance! In his youth, my dad had been a prodigy on the violin and could play just about any instrument he picked up. Before homesteading and raising kids, in her former life, Mom had been an Off Broadway actress and classically trained opera singer. Our musical roots ran deep, and the family songs we composed comprised our only form of homemade entertainment.

Family Hootenannies…

I loved it when of an evening, after the dinner dishes were done, Dad would push the kitchen table against the wall. If he cleared that “dance floor,” a family hootenanny was about to break out! He’d start to pluck and strum his small classical guitar. When he and Mom bought that little instrument at a pawn shop in New York City’s Lower East Side, they probably never guessed it would make its debut in a small shack in Southern Indiana! As Dad played, he and Mom would sing while all four of us kids joined in.

The rhythm section consisted of metal table spoons that we clasped between our fingers, tapping them between our cupped hands and laps. Mom would bust out her zils, or finger cymbals, a carryover from her old belly dancing days. More than likely, the tambourine and harmonica would make an appearance before it was all said and done. As new believers, my folks surely did not get everything right about the Bible. But when it came to singing and dancing as a form of worship, they were right in step with the psalms.

Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

Psalm 149:3, KJV

The Sweetest Music to My Ears…

I couldn’t sit still through the first chorus before I was out on the “dance floor” with what I’m sure were some enthusiastic homemade moves. I’d try to mimic what I had seen Shirley Temple doing with her feet. One evening, a couple joined us for dinner and stayed for some of our after dinner “entertainment.” Afterward, they kept remarking that the steps we were doing looked a lot like the Appalachian clog dancing they were learning. They were taking lessons in the nearby town and suggested that we might like to join them. Soon after their visit, my dad told me we were all going to start taking clogging lessons. His words were the sweetest music to my ears, and they ushered in nearly a decade of dance.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:… A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4, KJV

Through It All, I Danced…

I thank God for that season of dance. It was filled with deep sorrow, but the Lord had given me a gift to carry me through it. I danced through the devastation of my parents’ divorce. Through the empty pangs of hunger that one meal a day–the free lunch at school–could not fill. Through the grief of my dad’s untimely death. He always said he hoped he’d die dancing, and one night at a local line dance, that’s how he passed. As if caught in a dizzying contra dance, spinning from one partner to the next, I danced through a disorienting shuffle: moving in and out of six different families’ homes by the time I graduated high school. Through it all, I danced.

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.

Psalm 30:11, KJV

The Magic of the Dance…

I remember long afternoons that turned into late nights pounding out beats on the hard concrete floor of my friend Chris’ basement. A national championship under his belt, Chris proved not only to be an amazing dancer but teacher as well. He patiently broke down each step into smaller movements, which we repeated over and over until it became second nature. That’s when the magic of the dance began. I was no longer thinking about each shift of weight, each toe ball heel combination. The movements just started to flow out of me. For the first time, it felt easy and fluid, and fun! What had begun as a frustratingly mechanical process became an exhilarating experience of movement and joy!

The Clunky Walk of Faith…

This progression describes my walk of faith as well. For many years, I have felt like a clunky beginner, tripping over my own feet. My spirit is ready and willing. It longs to sashay through life, trusting that my Father will always catch me when I fall. But my flesh doesn’t follow suit. It wants to rehearse each step before I take it, to rehash old missteps, to mistrust my partner, to complain that the choreographer’s routine is too complicated. But then there are those times when I’m blissfully lost in the dance of faith. When I’m moving freely in the spirit, it all feels so effortless. When I let Him take the lead, I feel like I can fly.

But then there are those times when I’m blissfully lost in the dance of faith. When I’m moving freely in the spirit, it all feels so effortless. When I let Him take the lead, I feel like I can fly. Click To Tweet

The Joy of Worship…

Whether it’s dance or any other form of expression, I know God created us to experience the joy of worship. One afternoon my husband and I were playing an outdoor concert with our old bluegrass band. As I looked out at the audience on a beautifully sprawling lawn covered by a grove of huge old oak trees, I saw one of the most simple, joyous sights I’ve ever been blessed to behold.

Directly in front of the stage was a throng of about 50 children dancing with reckless abandon. Those sweaty little bodies and the bright spirits within them were not concerned about how they looked, whether they were on the beat, off the beat, or even had a beat. And they weren’t worrying about whether they were doing it “right.” They were simply moving with the music and experiencing joy. And isn’t our faith suppose to look like that of the little children?

Invite to the Dance…

It can feel paralyzing if we don’t know all the right moves. We can hold back and not even think about stepping on the dance floor of our lives. But when it comes to our faith and our worship, God is not interested in perfect execution. He considers the state of our heart toward Him. There is freedom in this dance of faith. If we simply incline our hearts and minds toward the Lord, He shows us when and how to move. He shows us whom to partner with, which wall flower to invite off the bleachers and onto the floor. He chaperones us away from the sin that entices us down the wrong path. After all, He is the Maestro, the choreographer, and we all have an invite to the dance. It’s when we accept the invitation, when we show up, that we experience the magic.

How do you express your worship? When was the last time you danced?

Gaelle Marcel

Consumed: Too Many Choices Distract Us From What We Truly Need

Devotionals, Stay SaneJanuary 14, 2018September 8, 2019

Our culture is consumed with satisfying our needs however we deem best, but we still crave more. We are created to to be filled by Christ alone.

I’ve been asking myself the same question for the past month. It’s that scene from You’ve Got Mail where Kathleen Kelly says, “I’m wondering about my work and all. I mean, what is it that I do exactly? All I really do is run a children’s bookstore…” Except I exchange bookstore for ministry. Couldn’t anyone do this job?

There are days when my heart and flesh fail. I want to get through a Sunday morning with zero hiccups and have so many volunteers I have to turn people away. But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. He shows me how need leads to Him being able to show up at the last minute and save the day. God really likes to do that because He gets all the glory!

Consumed: Too Many Options

It’s easy to slip into the show up, fill up, go home mentality. It’s like an entire generation of pirates, “Take what you need. Give nothing back.” Every day presents us with scads of choices. Do you want a small or medium latte? Would you rather have chicken or hamburgers for dinner? Should you go with highlights, balayage or a solid color at the salon? Our options are abundant. When we walk through the doors of our churches it’s enticing to bring those expectations with us.

Options have been a thriving part of western society for the last few generations. As a result, self-absorption is now an inbred disease. We’ve all seen adults acting like toddlers, right? When they don’t get their way they whine and moan. Maybe you are that person. I’ve certainly digressed to infantile behavior on more than one occasion. It wasn’t pretty. I’m glad you weren’t there to see it.

Some churches succumb to giving tantrum-throwers a watered-down gospel that neither convicts nor produces change. At best, it offers a gold “I went to church today” sticker. Maybe we saw a few friends and got goose bumps during one of the worship songs. In our society we are easily bored. If something doesn’t dazzle us we’re on to the next thing.

Consumed: What We Need

Hold up! The gospel is dazzling! The Christian life is never boring! So what are we missing?

God takes our lives and changes our story. He fixes our mess and changes our want-to. Jesus doesn’t charge us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness so everything we need might be given to us. No; He said He will give us all the other things we need.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10, ESV

The early days of my faith were just that—faith. I professed Jesus Christ as Lord and by faith I continued to claim Christianity. But now I have come to know and believe the love God has for me.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4:16, ESV

He is the One and only. I want to be done toying around like this faith owes me something for being a long-standing member. Need motivates. Rapidly consuming and moving on to the next thing seems to merely produce more clutter. And don’t we all long for a simplified life?

His love heals the self-absorbed ego and enables us to notice and be sensitive to others around us.

Timothy Keller

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Need leads to God being able to show up at the last minute and save the day. Click To Tweet

Evan Dennis

We are messy people who make messes, but God redeems those messes and makes us beautiful.

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Getting Unstuck: Moving Forward With Faith

Devotionals, Stay SaneOctober 8, 2017January 13, 2019

There will always be circumstances or situations in our lives that cause us to get stuck. We’ve got to keep fighting to move forward with faith.

I grew up in this lovely place called the Lowcountry, where mossy oak trees, salty rivers and pluff mud are just a few of the things that adorn its beauty. Pluff mud. You may have heard of it? It’s the stinky stuff that you smell in the marsh as you drive across the coastal waterway bridges.

Playing in the pluff mud with my Meema is one of my favorite past times. As I recall, every Saturday we would put on our boots and head over to Stoney Creek and truck around in the mud searching for treasures, swinging on trees and chasing hermit crabs. We would begin our journey, over and under the mossy oaks and through the salty marsh grass. Sometimes through our hike, my foot would get so stuck in that mud that I could hardly pull it out. Meema would be a few feet ahead of me and would have to reach back and grab my arm and together we would finally break my foot free from the mud. Can’t that be a constant resemblance of our lives sometimes?

Getting unstuck…

Do you ever feel like you’re stuck somewhere and you just can’t get out? I feel you friend, I’ve been there. That place is all too familiar to me. But, our God does not want us to stay stuck in the pluff mud of life.

…you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9, NLT

A Chosen priesthood, called out of darkness into His light. He calls us out of our valleys and He calls us out of the pluff mud! God wants the best for us but we have to be willing to move in His direction if we want to have His best for ourselves.

Those times that I couldn’t get my foot unstuck, Meema was there to help me. It wasn’t until I reached back and grabbed her arm that we were, together, able to get my foot out of the mud. God is there. He is reaching out to pull us out of our mud, we’ve just got to reach back and grab on to Him. Just as David declares:

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

Psalm 40:2, NLT

I remember hearing the suction of the mud against my boot as I would try and pull my foot out. With a tug here and a tug there, when I was finally able to pull my foot free, the feeling of relief swept over me. Then, Meema and I would continue to move forward in our hike.

There will always be circumstances or situations in our lives that cause us to get stuck, emotionally stuck, physically stuck, mentally stuck, but we’ve got to keep fighting to pull that foot up and put it in front of the other and keep moving forward, faith forward. And if we’re smart, we’ll ask for the Fathers help, to pull us out of the muddy circumstances of our lives and help us move forward in our journey through life.

If I could encourage you in one thing, it would be this: Don’t be afraid of the mountain top because you’ve gotten so used to being in the valley. Faith forward friend!

Don't be afraid of the mountain top because you've gotten so used to being in the valley. Click To Tweet

What kind of mud are you stuck in?

Top photo credit: Jean Tanner (Meema)

Ready, Prepared, Perspective, Risks, Pursued, Loved, Strength, Faith, Glory

Get Ready

Devotionals, Stay SaneOctober 4, 2017January 13, 2019

When getting ready to face the unknown, we must be prepared, change our perspective, and take risks. The Lord is loving, strong, and longs for His glory to be known.

There has been a recurring theme in my life over the past couple of weeks. And one day in particular that caught my attention. Perhaps it take multiple times of smacking me in the face with something in order for me to understand. Perhaps I need to pay attention to what is happening.

Over the past few weeks, I have been doing the Ready Study by Heather Dixon. It is a study on the book of Joshua, chapters 1-5 and teaching how to be ready when we are facing unknown circumstances. I also have been reading through Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson. It’s about praying often with boldness, and is a 40 day prayer challenge. And during my runs I have been listening to Cast of Characters by Max Lucado. In this book he connects our lives with the lives of people in the Bible.

Well, on one day the phrase “Get Ready” came to my attention in 3 different ways.

First, in the study by Heather Dixon, where she says this:

I was sitting on our screened-in porch listening to the early morning songs of my backyard bird friends when God told me to get ready.

Three months after God told me to get ready, I was in the emergency room with two aneurysms. I lost 10% of my kidney tissue. Not long after that, my left carotid artery ruptured. I underwent two precarious surgeries to repair it. I was soon diagnosed with Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome – a genetic connective tissue disorder that makes my blood vessels, arteries, and organs prone to spontaneous rupture. There is no cure for Vascular Ehlers-Danlos. There is no treatment. There is only a prescription from the doctor to prepare your bucket list and live your life well. The average life-expectancy of someone with VEDS is 48. Indeed, God wanted me to be ready for something. I am convinced that God led me to Joshua’s story as a gracious warning for what was to come. It was the truths I learned in Joshua 1-5 that helped me stay strong through months of uncertainty.

Then, later that day I was listening to a podcast where Heather was being interviewed, and I heard this segment of her story being told again, with her saying, “get ready.”

Finally, in the late afternoon as I sat down to read in Draw the Circle, I couldn’t believe my eyes when the title for day one was, “Get Ready.”

Okay Lord, I get it. It’s time to get ready.

But for what? Is it something good? Is it something bad?

I remember a time in my life where I had a similar whisper in my spirit. I can still tell you where I was when I heard it. I had this feeling of peace, and a general all-is-right-with-the-world kind of feeling. And then the feeling shifted to, what is about to come?

Wow, did life ever shift. In the following months we experienced three deaths in the family, including my mother, as well as moving to a new state with a new job and no friends. My world, and my faith, were shaken.

But this time, I say “bring it.”

Getting Ready…

Be Prepared. In the Ready Study, Heather Dixon talks about how God will prepare us for our battles beforehand. That “He does not call you where His feet have not already marched.” The Lord knows what is coming, He is not surprised. He promises to prepare us for the work to come.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

The Lord knows what is coming, and promises to prepare us for the work to come. Click To Tweet

Change Perspective. In the chapter about David in the Cast of Characters, Max Lucado shares how David could see the giant and how large he was, but more than seeing Goliath, he saw how powerful God is.

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord‘s, and he will give you into our hand.”

1 Samuel 17:45-47

Take Risks. In Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson (who is also sharing about Joshua), challenges us to step out in faith and be willing to get our feet wet. Notice that God didn’t hold back the water and then tell them to go forward. He told them to get in the water first.

And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters…were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

Joshua 3:13-17

Final Thoughts…

Do I believe God’s power is bigger than my giant?

Do I face the unknown with boldness?

I honestly do not know if I am headed toward something good, or something bad. None of us know what the day will bring. But… I do know that whatever is to come, I will be prepared for it. I do know that, even though I may not be able to handle it, God can. I do know that God wants good things for me, so if walking through difficult times will bring me closer to Him and bring glory to His name, I am willing to step out in faith.

What are you getting ready for?

PS…

These are the books I referenced, all of which I recommend:

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